This expanded and revised edition of the bibliography originally compiled for the United States Air Force Historical Research Agency is the most comprehensive listing of unofficial published histories of the United States Air Force and its antecedents. It covers the air force from its genesis as the US Army Signal Corps, Aviation Section to the present. These titles are a rich source of information for anyone interested in the history of combat and peacetime operations of the Air Force. Researchers and libraries will find the organization of titles easy to use. Entries include: private sponsored or "unofficial" histories often written by the unit historian personal narratives purely photographic or pictorial histories route of battle maps published or printed rosters officially produced titles This is an indispensable resource for military aviation historians, libraries with strong collections in military and air force history, and unit history collectors. It is also of special interest to genealogists as many unit histories contain rosters and photos of personnel.

The adventures of 60 pilots and ground crewmen who flew or worked on the Spitfire during World War II

A narrative description and condensed history of the Spitfire's construction, combat career, and postwar service tell all there is to know about the finest fighter of World War II. When the book "Spitfire at War" first appeared in 1974, it enjoyed critical acclaim, for the aircraft had never been described in such terms and detail before. It was followed by a second volume in 1985 and a third volume in 1990. All three volumes sold well and are hailed as classic works on the subject. These important works have been out of print for more than a decade, thereby denying them to the current breed of aviation buffs. The time has come to reissue the three books as a single volume, the author "cherry-picking" the choice cuts to produce the finest title on the mighty and beloved Spitfire.

Our stories of industrial innovation tend to focus on individual initiative and lone breakthroughs. With Making Jet Engines, Hermione Giffard uses the case of the development of jet engines during World War II to offer a different way of understanding technological innovation, revealing the complicated mix of factors that go into any decision to pursue an innovative, and therefore risky technology. Giffard compares the approaches of Germany, Britain, and the United States, showing that each approached jet engines in different ways because of its own particular war aims and industrial expertise. Germany, which produced more jet engines than the others, did so largely as replacements for more expensive piston engines. Britain, on the other hand, produced relatively few engines but, by shifting emphasis to design rather than production, found itself at war's end holding an unrivaled range of designs. The US emphasis on development, meanwhile, built an institutional basis for postwar production. Taken together, Giffard's accounts make a powerful case for a more nuanced understanding of technological innovation, one that takes into account the influence of the many organizational factors that play a part in the journey from idea to finished product.

The 91st Bombardment Group, the forerunner of the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing, arrived in England in September 1942 prepared for the initial bombing operations against Fortress Europe. Commander of the 305th Bomber Command, Curtis LeMay and Director of Operations, Joseph J. Preston, trained air crews in locating and identifying strategic targets in Nazi Germany. LeMay and Preston developed a dynamic working relationship and left a lasting legacy. News correspondents were trained as gunners in order to fly on the bombing missions and report the war first hand. Young college-aged crews rapidly became seasoned warriors and struggled to meet the 25-mission requirement before their return home. One of the most famous B-17s during World War II was the "Memphis Belle" which was featured in a movie "Saga of the Memphis Belle" / In February 20-25, 1944, known as "Big Week," the VIII Bomber Command put up 1,000 heavy bombers that flew 3,800 sorties, destroyed 75 percent of buildings bombed in Germany and downed 600 Nazi fighters. The following month, 800 bombers struck Berlin targets during such bad weather that Luftwaffe fighters never became airborne. That offensive established aerial supremacy in Europe in preparation for General Dwight Eisenhower's command of the D-Day invasion on Nazi-occupied France. The 91st was again in the thick of world events when the Soviet-backed North Koreans pushed through the 38th Parallel into South Korea. Photographic reconnaissance and mapping of the uncharted Korean peninsula became a top priority. The nation's first jet-propelled bomber, the RB-45C, led the newly designated US Air Force assigned to a detachment bound for Japan. Capable of air refueling, the RB-45C detachment made an island-hopping flight due to the time constraints to become proficient in working with tanker refueling. The 91st SRW detachments continued to perform at Forward Operating Locations in Eielson AFB, Alaska, Thule AFB, Greenland, Turkey, Libya, Morocco, Spain, England and Japan, with the same skill and security. 'We Served with Honor' tells the history of the 91st Strategic Reconnaissance Wing from the perspective of the men who lived it. One pilot describes his Top Secret overflight of the Soviet Union's Kola Peninsula including an attack by MiG fighters. The partnership between the Royal Air Force and the 91st SRW was a unique collaboration and is described by the RAF officer who was the center of the events.

This title clarifies air power's role in modern warfare. It explores its involvement in operations other than war and low-intensity campaigns. It affords an overall global perspective because of its internationally diverse contributors. This one-volume anthology provides a comprehensive and objective analysis of the part air power has played in military engagements over the past century. Comprised of fifteen essays penned by a global cast of leading military professionals, ""A History of Air Warfare"" chronologically examines air power's involvement in World Wars I and II, the Cold War period, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, campaign by campaign. The last section focuses on air power in operations other than war from 1913 to the present and contains a concluding chapter on its evolution. Each essay lays out the exposition, objectives, and cast of characters necessary to understand the conflict in question and then inspects the strategic and operational levels of war, as well as the interplay between the politics and military operations proper. More than a simple homage to air power, ""A History of Air Warfare"" exposes its strengths and its weaknesses and, when relevant, illuminates the challenges within coalition warfare. Because of its even treatment of critical analyses and historical background, the book will appeal to modern warfare scholars, air power theorists, and general readers interested in military history alike.

This fascinating book was written by the brother of Lanoe Hawker VC DSO as a tribute. The Hawkers came from a distinguished sporting family with strong military and naval records and Lanoe from the outset set his sights on flying for the RFC. After the Central Flying School he crossed to France in October 1914 with 6 Squadron equipped with BE2s and Henri Farmans. As the war in the air progressed so Hawker came more and more into his own both as a combat pilot and commander. He was rapidly promoted and given command of 24 Squadron. He, like other pilots, flew numerous machines such as Bristol Scouts, FE4227s and the famous DH2s. This book contains many combat reports by pilots of their missions and these make the most graphic reading. The relative merits, qualities and characteristics of the aircraft both British, French and German are discussed with pilots' opinions. For a better insight into combat air operations Hawker VC - The First RFC Ace is unlikely to be surpassed, thanks to the extensive use of first-hand accounts. Casualty/death rates were appalling but this special band of brothers flew on regardless until their turn came.

Spitfire PK350 is the only late-mark Spitfire, an F Mk 22, to have ever been restored to full flying status. She had no restrictions on her airframe and with four fully serviceable 20mm cannons, she was as good as the day she came off the production line in July 1945 at the massive Castle Bromwich factory near Birmingham in England. She first flew as a restored aircraft on 29 March 1980 at the hands of one John McVicar 'Jack' Malloch. By then a legend in his adopted country Rhodesia, Malloch had, in 1977, been entrusted by the hierarchy of the Rhodesian Air Force to restore SR64, as she was then known. In two and half years, Jack Malloch and his trusted engineers, with critical help from the Rhodesian and South African air forces, completely restored SR64 to flying condition. The fact that she was fitted with a propeller made by a German company added a sweet irony to a project that had to contend with sanctions imposed by Britain, the original country of manufacture, and highlighted the enterprising spirit of the team. This was possible because Malloch, with the backing of the Rhodesian government, had built up a successful charter airfreight company that assumed different guises, depending on where it was operating, to bypass sanctions. Malloch's extensive network thus facilitated his ability to manage such a demanding a project in his quest to fulfil a dream: to restore and once again fly a Spitfire which he had flown in the RAF during the Second World War. Some fascinating insights are revealed in this account. From the test pilot who first flew her as PK350 on 25 July 1945 to the true ownership and vision for SR64 as a restored aircraft, the reader is taken on a journey through the aircraft's complete life, with the project's lead engineer and most of the surviving pilots who flew her gracing the story with their memories. For two years PK350 delighted those fortunate enough to see her fly, mostly round Salisbury (Harare) airport. Then, on what was planned to be its last flight, Malloch's Spitfire never returned to base.

The distinctive black and yellow chequered markings of the 353rd Fighter Group, the `Slybirds', made them one of the USAAF `Mighty' 8th Air Force's most colourful fighter groups. Flying P-47D Thunderbolts and later P-51D Mustangs the 353rd's appearance in the skies over occupied Europe witnessed growing American air power and helped to change the course of the air war. From mid-1943 until the end of hostilities in Europe, the 353rd participated in all major aerial battles from the 1943 Regensburg and Schweinfurt raids to `Big Week', the attacks on Berlin, and the support of the D-Day landings and Normandy campaign in 1944. They went on to win the Distinguished Unit Citation during the Arnhem operation of September 1944 and after converting to P-51 Mustangs they continued to play a full and prominent role in the final smashing of the Third Reich from the air. Fighting High Publishing has come together with respected 8th Air Force historian Graham Cross to tell the story of the `Slybirds'. With access to an unparalleled photographic archive built up over nearly thirty years of close association and friendship with the group, the author provides a detailed representation of all aspects of the group's key activities. Focussing not just on the aircraft and pilots but also the vital work of the ground crews and service personnel, this is a stunning tribute that fills a major gap in the history of 8th Fighter Command. A full honour roll to those who made the ultimate sacrifice is included along with details of all POWs and all confirmed claims by the Group's air-to-air aces. Packed with nearly 450 photos, the majority of which are previously unpublished, unseen wartime colour photos and detailed captions, this book is a visual and information feast. This latest volume in Fighting High Publishing's `Odyssey' series is the most in-depth photographic record of the 353rd to date and provides a unique window on a fighter group at war.

40 color profiles of the famous Messerschmitt Me 163, a German WW2 rocket fighter aircraft. German and foreign users' camouflages are shown.

France has been called the cradle of aviation by many - a fact that cannot be disputed, although some have tried. By the end of the 19th century, she led the world in lighter-than-air flight. Any concern about heavier-than-air flight was dismissed as inevitable, and France would achieve it in due course. By the time Bl riot bravely enquired Which way is England?' the country was ready to redress any perceived shortfall. Besides leading European aviation, France was the nation that named all the parts of an aeroplane with words many of which we still use everywhere today. France was also the first nation to stage air exhibitions. Unlike their counterparts in Britain, Germany and America, French designers were thoroughly entrepreneurial and tried a wide variety of adventurous styles from pusher to canard and monoplane to multiplane. In 1909 the first Air Show was held at the Grand Palais. The Exposition Internationale de locomotion a rienne' ushered in what was to become an enduring tradition. Every year, the aircraft exhibitions were a massive success. The interior design by Andr Granet, who since his youth had been fascinated by flying, was such a success that the Automobile-Club subsequently commissioned Granet to do the same for the car shows. It is not surprising that all this derring-do, all these technological achievements and all this innovation drew reporters and photographers like moths to a flame. The men, the machines, the places and the events all were recorded, reported, reproduced and then were filed away. Hundreds of images appeared in print, but thousands were printed up only as contact prints from large-format glass negatives and then disappeared into albums to be forgotten about. In the mid-1990s the author came across one such treasure-trove; a number of dust-covered albums containing around five hundred images of aircraft, airships and expositions - it is doubtful if most have appeared in print before, so this will probably be the first time the events of these French pioneers have ever been showcased.

Included on the Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force's reading list for 2008Dr. John Andreas Olsen has written an insightful, compelling biography of retired U.S. Air Force colonel John A. Warden III, the brilliant but controversial air warfare theorist and architect of Operation Desert Storm's air campaign. Warden's radical ideas about air power's purposes and applications, promulgated at the expense of his own career, sparked the ongoing revolution in military affairs. Legendary in defense circles, Warden is also the author of "The Air Campaign: Planning for Combat" (republished by Brassey's, Inc. in 1989). Presenting both the positives and negatives of Warden's personality and impact in this objective portrait, Olsen offers a trenchant analysis of his revolutionary ideas and great accomplishments.

The true story documenting the short range history of the bomber force. Told in three parts, it demonstrates the versatility of the military pilot and observer and is a credit to the training they receive, coupled with the experience each one of them acquired.

Celebrating 25 years with a comprehensive history from World War II through the 21st Century. Biographical profiles of the members as well as a roster of all association members.

When the revolutionary twin jet-powered Arado Ar 234 first appeared in the skies over north-west Europe in the summer of 1944, it represented the state-of-the-art in terms of aeronautical and technical development. The Ar 234 was a formidable aircraft - powered by Jumo 004Bs, the same engine used by the Me 262, and with a maximum speed of 735 km/h and range of 1600 km/h, it was very difficult for the Allies to 'catch'. Here was a machine that with its superior speed could operate with impunity as both a bomber and in the reconnaissancerole. As such, the aircraft became the world's first reconnaissance jet, undertaking secret, high-speed, high-altitude observation missions for the German High Command over the Allied beachheads in Normandy and other Allied strongholds. Astonishingly, in September 1944 and as late as 1945, lone Ar 234s conducted reconnaissance flights over British ports and theMediterranean. The aircraft was equally efficient as a jet bomber - although the Ar 234B-2 bomber variant carried no defensive gun armament, it was able to deliver 1000 kg of bombs at high-speed and at either low- or high-level with considerable and devastating accuracy. This highly detailed title from renowned aviation historian Robert Forsyth explores the history of this incredible aircraft, from its development in the early 1940s to its deployment in both reconnaissance and bomber roles throughout the rest of the war. The masterful text is supported by stunning, specially commissioned artwork.

The South African Air Force (SAAF), formed on 1 February 1920, is the second oldest air force in the Commonwealth. The air arm played a major role in securing victory for the Allies during the Second World War, in the 1948/49 Berlin Airlift, and in Korea in the 1950s. The SAAF assisted Rhodesia in the 1960s and '70s, made a major contribution to the 'Border' or 'Bush' war in South West Africa and Angola, participated in the transition to a new democracy in South Africa and continuously supports South African peace missions in Africa. It has also assisted in countless relief and rescue missions in southern Africa throughout this entire period. However, the SAAF is not just about aircraft and ordnance; it is made up of people and it is in this compilation that these people, airmen and ground crew alike, find their voice. These are their stories, all told in the first person by the actual participants as unvarnished, unabbreviated and intensely immediate and personal recollections. Through their stories of heroism, duty, adventure and tragedy, the reader will follow the history of the SAAF from 1939 to the present day. To complement the stories, the final chapter includes a collection of squadron pub songs from the Second World War, Korea and the Border War.

Ju 87 D (Dora) is another version of this popular dive bomber. Despite the weak armor and less sufficient performance, the Stukas were still produced due to the lack of a successor. However, the plane underwent some modifications that allowed it to be used for a variety of tasks. Ju 87 D had a more efficient water and oil cooling system, a more aerodynamic fuselage and modified crew cabin that was more spacious and better thought out. Dora was driven by one of the two Junkers' engines: Jumo 211 J-1 with 1420 hp or Jumo 211 P with 1500 hp. Fuel tanks were increased up to the capacity of 1370 l, which allowed to achieve an average flight length of 2 hours and 15 minutes. In the case of using external drop-tanks, the flight time increased to 4 hours. In relation to the Ju 87 B version D could carry much bigger load of bombs. It was a jump from 500 to about 1200 kg of bombs, and with minimum amount of fuel and for short-distance missions, the aircraft could carry up as much as 1800 kg of bombs. Individual variants - from D-1 to D-4 - differed in the used armor and equipment: D-2 - was planned for tropical operations, D-3 - was planned for night (D-3 N) or tropical missions (D-3/trop), D-4 - torpedo-bomber version.

Tracing the use of air power in World War II and the Korean War, Mark Clodfelter explains how U. S. Air Force doctrine evolved through the American experience in these conventional wars only to be thwarted in the context of a limited guerrilla struggle in Vietnam. Although a faith in bombing's sheer destructive power led air commanders to believe that extensive air assaults could win the war at any time, the Vietnam experience instead showed how even intense aerial attacks may not achieve military or political objectives in a limited war. Based on findings from previously classified documents in presidential libraries and air force archives as well as on interviews with civilian and military decision makers, "The Limits of Air Power" argues that reliance on air campaigns as a primary instrument of warfare could not have produced lasting victory in Vietnam. This Bison Books edition includes a new chapter that provides a framework for evaluating air power effectiveness in future conflicts.

This book describes the extraordinary combat career of the American-built Vultee Vengeance dive-bomber in both the Royal Air Force and Indian Air Force service during the Burma Campaigns of 1942-45. This single-engine, all-metal aircraft was ordered by the Ministry of Supply during the darkest days of World War II when the lethal German combination of Junkers Ju.87 Stuka and Panzer tank forces had conquered most of Europe in a campaign that lasted a mere few weeks and the invasion of Britain was considered imminent. The RAF had invented the dive-bomber concept in 1917 but had consistently rejected it in the inter-war period with the obsession of heavy bombing predominating official thinking almost exclusively. By the time the Vengeance arrived a still-reluctant RAF was seeking a precision bomber to prevent a repeat of the Japanese Naval attacks in the Indian Ocean and six squadrons were set up to counter this threat. With the Japanese on the borders of Burma and India, these aircraft, no longer required for the original role, proved by far and away the most accurate bomber aircraft operated by the British up to that time. The Allied Armies on the ground, including Orde Wingate's Chindits, clamoured for their continued use and considered them essential, but in vain, and by 1945 all had been replaced. Their achievements have been ignored, falsified or scorned ever since but here, from eyewitness accounts and official records, is their full and true story.

"Forgotten Blitzes" analyses how states and civil society in Vichy France and Fascist Italy reacted to the experience of Allied bombing between 1940 and 1945. Between 1940 and 1945, the Allies dropped some 370,000 tons of bombs on Italy - nearly five times the total dropped on Britain by the Luftwaffe. France received nearly 590,000 tons, eight times the British figure. In each country, over 50,000 civilians died. How did the central and local authorities in Vichy France and Fascist Italy cope with a scale of attack beyond anything expected before 1940? How did ordinary French and Italian people respond? Was there a 'Blitz spirit' in either country, or did morale and solidarity collapse? How far were the Allies' claims to be liberators accepted by their bombed-out victims? This comparative work uses political, social and cultural approaches to highlight both the similarities between the challenges faced by states and people in each country, and the differences in the ways they reacted. Extensive research in a variety of local and national archives, complemented by diaries and personal memoirs, has allowed the authors to build up a fine-grained picture of the impact of bombing as it affected states, local authorities and individuals.

EJ Johnson's story of nine young men who overcame unbelievable odds with the 8th Air Force 490th Bomb Group flying missions over Germany during the 1944-1945 era of World War II - and lived to tell about it. After qualifying as a navigator in the Army Air Corps during World War II, E.J. Johnson went on to serve with the 490th Bomb Group of the Mighty Eighth Air Force. His crew led by Pilot Roy Hann, flew some of the most harrowing campaigns of the war including many to Berlin, the heart of the German war machine. Hann's Crew is more than a memoir, however, it is a moving tribute to the men, the missions and legacy of the unit whose courageous exploits proved vital in the conclusion of the war in Europe.

Robert le Page flew with the Fleet Air Arm from 1940 to 1945, mostly in 816 Squadron flying carrier-based Fairey Swordfish. He saw action mine-laying off Cherbourg, hunting U-boats, escorting convoys in North Atlantic and in the Arctic seas and covering D-Day. Much of his early war years were aboard HMS Dasher and he was lucky to be ashore when the carrier mysteriously blew and sank in the Clyde. This decimated 816 Squadron which was eventually re-equipped and then worked up to operational readiness to fly from HMS Tracker. His story is full of insights into wartime naval flying. When they were tasked with finding and attacking German E Boats they found that in a headwind these powerful boats could outdistance the 'Stringbag'. They devised a plan which was to glide as quietly as possible on their approach to the quarry and power up the engine only seconds before they attacked - however they never managed to sink one. Once when landing in rough weather his aircraft was waved to go round again. With throttle wide open the Swordfish struggled back into the air, but alas the tailhook snagged the top wire of the barrier protecting other parked aircraft. The author remembered staring down from the stalling aircraft to see a terror stricken fitter gazing up at him. Fortunately all survived.

A valentine for one of the ugliest, albeit most lethally effective, warplanes ever built--as well as for the men who flew them during the Desert Storm campaign. Drawing on interviews with over one hundred A-10 pilots who served in the Persian Gulf during the 1990-91 hostilities, Smallwood (himself an aviator and Korean War vet) offers riveting perspectives on aerial combat. Setting the stage with an informative briefing on how, in the 70's, the Air Force developed the A-10 (a.k.a. Warthog'') as a means of supporting ground troops with massive firepower, he moves into anecdotal vignettes detailing the ways in which so-called hog drivers'' and their commanders whiled away the weary hours of the calm before the storm in Saudi Arabia's inhospitable clime. At the heart of his narrative, however, are vivid accounts of how A-10s accomplished their tank-busting missions and then some once the battle was joined. Tasked, among other objectives, to take out missile launchers and artillery emplacements far behind the front lines (assignments normally reserved for jet fighters), the slow-moving, heavily armed Warthogs were credited with over half the bomb damage inflicted on Iraqi forces and installations. Employing improvisational tactics, A-10s also flew reconnaissance and assisted in rescues of coalition pilots; they even scored air-to- air kills, downing a couple of enemy choppers. Indeed, the plane's ungainly Gatling-gun platform performed so well that pilots demanded their craft be redesignated RFOA-10'' (for reconnaissance/fighter/observation/attack'').

"An absorbing tale of how a decidedly ugly duckling became a military hero of some consequence." -"Kirkus Reviews"

Of the many futuristic military aircraft concepts created in the 1950s the North American XB-70 still stands out as the most awe-inspiring. With its huge, white partially-folding delta wing, its fuselage resembling a striking cobra and its extraordinary performance, it was one of the foremost technological achievements of the 20th Century. A strategic bomber built to outrun any Soviet fighter jet, it could reach Mach 3 with a full nuclear payload - as fast as the legendary SR-71 Blackbird but more than three times the size. However, its role as a nuclear bomber was limited after the introduction of Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, and defence cuts eventually led to the project being scrapped in the mid-1960s. The Valkyrie had a brief, costly decade of life but it proved the continuing value of developing manned bombers. However, almost half a century after the XB-70 its predecessor, the B-52, continues in service. Using full colour artwork and rigorous analysis, this is the complete story of the ultimate US Cold War military X-plane.

Author William E. Oliver chronicles the lives and exploits of seven citizens who answered the call to military duty. None of the seven could have suspected that the combat record compiled in Korea when added to that compiled in WWII would isolate them as the only seven of many thousand aviators who would qualify for inclusion in the annals of history as The Inner Seven.